From the vastness of interstellar space to the tiny realm of atoms: Researchers have used advanced microscopes to reveal the chemical and molecular fingerprints of the early solar system inside the recently discovered Winchcomb meteorite. Meteorites are the building blocks of the solar system and provide important information about the ingredients that formed planets, including our own. Research carried out by partner institutions, including the University of Leeds, has achieved this.
A rare class of meteorites known as carbonaceous meteorites, which are rich in chemicals such as carbon and nitrogen, likely played a key role in delivering water and organic molecules to the early Earth.
Winchcombe is a carbonaceous meteorite. It has been widely observed that it fell in the UK in February 2021, and the first samples were collected about 12 hours after landing. As such, it provides scientists with an opportunity to study the organic composition of the early solar system without the severe terrestrial alteration effects that typically affect meteorite studies.
Nanoscale Analysis and Discovery
A multidisciplinary team of scientists from the Universities of Leeds, Manchester and York, in collaboration with colleagues at the Natural History Museum in London, the Diamond Light Source, the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, and led by the University of Münster in Germany, has conducted the first in-depth analysis of organic matter in the Winchcomb meteorite at the nanoscale.
They used one of the world's most powerful electron microscopes at the SuperSTEMFacility in Dallesbury, Cheshire, to uniquely correlate synchrotron radiation data with ultra-high-resolution spectroscopic information about the nature of functional chemical groups present in organic matter.
This image schematically shows how extremely thin sections of meteorites can be extracted with great precision to allow further examination of regions of interest rich in carbon chemicals under an X-ray beam (at the Diamond Light Source) or under an electron microscope (at SuperSTEM). Source: D.M. Kepaptsoglou, SuperSTEM
This allows for compelling in situ detection of nitrogen-containing biologically relevant molecules, including amino acids and nucleobases, which are the fundamental building blocks of large, complex proteins used in biology.
Research shows that Winchcomb still contains primitive extraterrestrial organic molecules that may have been crucial to the emergence of life on early Earth.
The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications.
Quentin Ramasse, Professor of Advanced Electron Microscopy in the School of Chemistry and Process Engineering at the University of Leeds and head of the electron microscopy group at the SuperSTEM Laboratory, said: "This work demonstrates that recent advances in electron microscopy instrumentation, including monochromatic high-energy resolution electron sources and highly sensitive new detector designs, allow us to analyze extraterrestrial organic matter with unprecedented resolution and efficiency. This opens up new avenues for future studies of these materials using compact, easily accessible electron microscopy instruments and synchrotron radiation."
Cutting edge technology and future impact
Christian Vollmer, a senior researcher at the University of Münster who led the study, said: "It is very exciting to be able to identify biologically relevant molecules such as amino acids and nucleobases at Winchcomb without using any chemical extraction methods, especially since we were able to highlight the spatial variation of local concentrations of these molecules at the nanoscale. This shows that our method makes it possible to map functional chemistry in meteorites, even if the size of the organic domains is very small and the abundance of the compounds is very low."
The researchers used the SuperSTEM Laboratory, the UK's national advanced electron microscopy research facility, supported by the UK's Engineering and Physical Research Council (EPSRC). The facility has some of the most advanced equipment in the world for studying the atomic structure of matter and is run with support from an academic consortium led by the University of Leeds (also including the Universities of Manchester and York, as well as the Universities of Oxford, Glasgow and Liverpool, who are involved in the project).
Very thin sections of the meteorite can be extracted with great precision under an X-ray beam (Diamond Light Source) or under an electron microscope (SuperSTEM), targeting areas of interest rich in carbonaceous chemicals for further examination.
Dr. Ashley King, a researcher at the Natural History Museum who collects the Winchcomb meteorite, said: "Our observations show that Winchcomb is an important member of the collection of carbonaceous meteorites. Its original composition provides a new breakthrough in our understanding of organic molecules in the early solar system."
Compiled from:ScitechDaily